Discussion

Can anyone identify this Thai appetiser?

The other day I picked up a package of thin dried tofu sheets and went about hunting for recipes using it when I came across this unidentified photo on the internet.

It instantly reminded me of an appetiser I had at a Thai restaurant about 20 years (!!!) ago. (It obviously left a strong impression!) I seem to recall it had ground pork and maybe a bit of minced shrimp/prawn with very silky texture with a slightly crispy shell. The dipping sauce was slightly sweet and sour, just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

The picture looks similar to what I remember of the dish, and like it might have been steamed and then fried. I’ve never used tofu skin before and don’t know what it looks like cooked, but in the photothe casing looks like it might be too thin to be tofu skin.

Does anyone know what this is, and do you have a recipe? It’s driving me crazy!

I think you have pretty much nailed everything spot on in your assumptions......with the exception being the tofu, or bean curd sheets. They are not steamed first, but simply re-hydrated in water if dried to make pliable.

The dipping sauce was probably Mae Ploy, or something similar that can be purchased in any larger Asian Grocery Store:

The dish is simply known as a type of meat Spring Roll or Rolls/Egg Rolls......instead of using rice or egg wrappers, tofu sheets are used instead. I've had similar items in Vietnamese and Chinese cooking.

it looks like a likely candidate is tofu skin with minced prawn, black mushroom (or some textural mushroom), water chestnut, minced ginger and minced pork -- and man, that is the best flavor in the world! to me, it is more chinese in character, but things get flexible in the culinary world, as we all know.

if it was crispy, i'd suspect it was indeed steamed first, then fried. i can taste it now! ;-)). now you have me looking online, too!

I googled "หอยจ๊อ recipe" and found this site which also calls the recipe "hoy jor" and translates the name as "Thai tofu rich roll" (http://www.ezythaicooking.com/free_re...) The picture looks a bit different, but it could certainly be the same thing, and I'm sure you could tweak it so it looks more like what you remember, if the taste is the same.

Many thanks to alkapal and everyone who responded. Hoy Jor is indeed what I was looking for - yipee! I think the ones I had so long ago were made with shrimp, which is what I'm going to try first, and replace the plum sauce with a lighter sweet chilie sauce as we have a bumper crop of chilies in the garden now.

The only thing I'm unsure about is the wheat flour, which I don't normally have on hand. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons, and it seems a waste to have to buy a large bag just for this as it goes stale so quickly. As it is used as a binder, do you think a bit of cornflour/starch, arrowroot or white flour would be the best substitute? (I'm thinking cornflour/starch would be the way to go.

Can't wait to give it a go. Again, cheers to all who came to my rescue!

Update. Well, I made the Hoy Jor recipes found on the internet, (http://www.ezythaicooking.com/free_re... and http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/deep-...), using bits from both and substituting with what I had to hand. The final product used pork mince, shredded suet, tinned shreaded crab, hens egg, cornflour/starch, a bit of dried shrimp, Chinese dried mushroom, spring onion/scallion, cilantro/coriander, Chinese cooking wine, white pepper, and soy. Would not use the suet again. I served them with a sweet and sour sauce and a salad of bean sprouts, carrots, seseme oil and soy. See picture. The Hoy Jor is sitting on bamboo leaves used to line the steamer.

They turned out pretty tasty but weren't what I'd hoped for or remembered from so long ago. Shrimp would have been better in my humble opinion, perhaps with a 60/40 ratio to the pork, which me thinks would be better using hand-chopped pork vs mince. Duck egg may have produced a richer finish. I cut back on the recipe's recommended garlic, which may have been a mistake as well.

All things considered, they were nice all things considered, but not memorable. Next time, maybe following a recipe would be a good idea! I'm using the left-over mixture for wontons tonight with some added prawn/shrimp and ginger for wonton soup.

As for the dried tofu skin, they were much thinner than I had expected looking at the package: How on earth do they do that! Extremely fragile, they reminded me of pork cull, like you use for faggots/sausage. I see endless possibilities!